For the past few years, Living Direct has been involved in the Adopt-A-Family program where families experiencing financial hardships get to provide a Christmas wish list. A group of us led the Adopt-A-Family initiative and after having so much participation last year, we decided to choose two families this year.

Both families chosen were from the Austin area and consisted of a single mom with two children. Personally, this is one of my favorite Give Back initiatives that we’re involved with here at Living Direct, as we have the opportunity to directly connect with a family in need. We’re very happy and fortunate to be able to provide the Christmas that these families (especially the kids) deserve after having a tough year. Both families that we chose were wonderful to work with and could not have been more grateful and appreciative for the help this holiday season. It’s definitely a tear jerker to hear a mom say that she wants absolutely nothing for herself, but only for her children to have a good Christmas.

I have actually kept in touch with one of the families and feel very lucky to have met them. They feel so blessed for all of the things they do have instead of feeling sorry for the things that they don’t. Their optimism for 2012 is truly inspiring. Last week I had a girl’s night out with the 14 year old daughter. We had bought her all the wrong clothing sizes so I took her shopping and out to dinner. It was really fun to get to know her better. She is extremely intelligent, highly involved in bettering their community and knows exactly what she wants to do after high school and even after college. I’m excited for her future and know she’ll end up making a difference wherever she ends up.

As this holiday season came and went, I am already looking forward to us making that phone call next year and telling a deserving family that Living Direct is going to help make their Christmas extra special!